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Distributor's Link Magazine Fall Issue 2016 / Vol 39 No4

48 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S

48 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK GLOBALFASTENERNEWS.COM by JASON SANDEFUR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR news@globalfastenernews.com FASTENERS FACE A LIGHTER FUTURE From sports cars to skyscrapers and next-generation jets, engineers are looking for ways to reduce weight, and fasteners are a primary target. The future of fastening is a frequent topic of trade shows and conferences. A sampling of conferences on the subject include the 5th annual Global Automotive Lightweight Materials conference in Detroit. The Lightweight Materials conference has roles for Phillips Screw Co., Semblex, Stanley, EFC International and Rifast Systems. The JEC International Conference on Automotive Technology during in Tennessee has a session on “Replacing traditional fasteners with adhesive bonding.” It goes beyond automotive, as SAE Global has its Aerospace Manufacturing & Automated Fastener Conference in Germany Lamborghini’s “Weighty Fasteners” Lamborghini’s Advanced Composite Structures Laboratory is one of the only places outside of Boeing that can simulate lightning strikes, hail, birdstrikes, and engine failures, Automobile Magazine reports. I always wanted to build and design fighter jets,” Dr. Paolo Feraboli told Automobile. “I am not an engineer. I am a carbon-fiber designer.” Under his direction, a five-person team tests, engineers, and creates “works of carbon-fiber art,” from the Lamborghini. Sesto Elemento to more than 1,000 parts for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. Feraboli believes that carbon-fiber manufacturing could be sped up by eliminating the traditional molding, heating, and curing process, so he started mixing chopped carbonfiber sheets with soft-at-roomtemperature resin, placing the mixture into a steel mold and heating it under intense, 2,000-psi pressure, according to Automobile. The process is called Forged Composite (FC) technology and has been patented by Lamborghini, having taken eight years to perfect. “The materials can be repaired without reducing structural integrity.” When asked about the nearly 2-ton weight of the car, Feraboli said: “Everyone thinks that it’s the engine that adds to the weight. Like in airplane manufacturing, everyone says, ‘OK, lets make the fuselage and the wings and tail out of light materials’—but then they attach all the pieces using steel connectors.” If Feraboli has his way, the next Lamborghini will have a single-piece, completely carbon-fiber fuselage that does away with what he called “loathsome weighty fasteners.” “Forged Composite is the next thing for car design,” he says, “and if we can make it lighter, stronger, modular, and integrated, the sky is really the limit.” BUSINESS FOCUS ARTICLE CONTINUED ON PAGE 158

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